LEGENDARY Liverpool entertainer Ken Dodd is backing the campaign to reopen the Chester Gateway Theatre, where he performed on several occasions.

Doddy, who celebrated his 81st birthday last Saturday, is backing the crusade to get the playhouse back up and running given its proposed replacement is on hold for years because of the economic crisis.

The man from Knotty Ash said he had performed at the Gateway “two or three times” and if it was resurrected he would love to enthral audiences there again.

Doddy, who said his “ancestors” came from Chester and he used to go to the races with his father, said: “I’m delighted to support the initiative to reopen the Gateway and I for one would love to play there again. A theatre is the hub of a city’s cultural life.

“My particular interest is in variety shows.”

Ventriloquist Keith Harris, who grew up in Chester, along with his feathered friend Orville, is also backing the campaign.

He said: “I lived in Chester for over 20 years and started my career at the old Royalty Theatre, City Road, along with such stars as Russ Abbott and many more.

“The theatre was sadly demolished many years ago but along came the Gateway Theatre, where I have played on several occasions and always to a full house.”

He added:“ It would be a great loss for the people of Chester to lose its only theatre.”

Playwright Tim Firth, the man behind Calendar Girls, had his play Neville’s Island staged at the Gateway.

Tim, who was born in Chester and lives in Delamere, said: “The longer a city goes without a theatre, the more it gets used to not having one.

“If financial reality dictates, we will not have a new theatre here for years. Keeping the Gateway closed becomes an active statement against the value of theatre in a community.

“In a city the size of Chester, and with its spirit, this position is indefensible.”